Determination of electromagnetic shielding and antibacterial properties of multifunctional warp-knitted fabrics

Abstract

Electromagnetic (EM) radiation, bacterial cross-infection, and electrostatic discharge hazards in working environments produce risks in workplace safety in EM industries and hospitals. Although many kinds of EM-shielding fabrics have been produced, few studies have focused on their antibacterial and other functional characteristics. In this study, a series of multifunctional EM-shielding fabrics possessing EM-shielding, antibacterial, antistatic, and thermal protective functions were produced. A vector network analyzer and a coaxial transmission holder were used to assess the EM-shielding performance of the multifunctional EM-shielding fabrics. The effects of layer numbers and angles of EM-shielding fabrics on the shielding level were investigated. The antibacterial ability of EM-shielding fabrics is essential for wearers who work in environments with poor indoor air quality. The test results showed that these fabrics showed excellent antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus based on inhibition zone. The presence of stainless steel wires and bamboo charcoal polyester yarns in the multifunctional fabrics provided great EM-shielding and thermal insulation properties, respectively. Moreover, using different yarns as the back face of the warp-knitted fabrics could also impart different thermal properties for the fabrics. These findings provided technical bases to design personal protective clothing with EM-shielding to mainly protect the workers from EM radiation, bacterial infection, and electrostatic discharge.